It is said that intense grief leads to a new opening in the field of spirituality like Buddha’s grief lead him in search of truth and realization. However it is also seen that in grief and frustration people opt for suicide or else with suicidal tendencies they end their life as suicide bombers, risking their life to terrorist activities. Now a question arises in our minds that whether in grief the door to spirituality opens for a selected few and the rest have to no option but to go in undesirable directions. We must understand one thing very clearly that existence is not selective, it is a phenomenon, if it can happen for one it can happen for all. The response of existence is unquestionable. Now we need to see at other things that are related to it.
The grief of Buddha or the grief in my life that you refer to, are not the same as the grief of others. Suicidal tendency is not bad, what is more important is what is it that one wants to end his life? Whether it is frustration due to problems faced in life and he is not finding any way out so he wants to escape by ending his life or whether it is an aware decision based on the futility of living. The two are poles apart.
The grief of others with suicidal tendencies is a cry for life. They don’t want to end their life, they don’t want to die, rather they want to live but as per their concepts and as they are not able to live the way they want, they get frustrated and feel like ending their life giving birth to suicidal tendencies.
In Buddha’s case it is something different. Buddha has seen all the best in life, having lived a Princely life and observed life in all its shades with great sensitivity and concludes that if life is like this only then is there any point in living; whether life is even worth living? Here the reason is not that you are not getting the desired life, here the reason goes deeper that whether there is any ground to desire this so called desired life. This question surfaced in him in the form of great grief termed as Maha Vishad. And this Maha Vishad led him into the search that whether life is this much only or is there something more to it. In this case it is not an attempt to live in better conditions, but this is seeing life with all sensitivity and clarity arriving at the facts and nature of life and then from there going beyond, transcending all that we see on the face of it.
When one looks at life and understands all that life offers on the surface, one arrives at the futility of living. This is frustrating and painful. At this point when one totally surrenders to the hopelessness engulfing him, not doing anything, not knowing what will happen; then somewhere from some corner an opening surfaces and something fresh unfolds which cannot be conceived by the mind. Here comes the response of the existence at a point when there is not even a single ray of hope of any opening and then when one fully lives this moment in complete surrender to this uncertainty, not knowing whether he will survive or perish, something happens.
We normally interfere somewhere in between, half-way, not living any moment to its maturity and therefore results don’t come. If we allow ourselves to live each emotion to its fullest so that it reaches its maturity, then it transforms.
The phenomenon is the same, the way is the same, and only your preparedness to live such a moment in absoluteness is required. All sadhna is preparing oneself to the full acceptance of this uncertainty, being open and receptive in waiting, anything can happen, you may live or die, nothing can be said for definite. And in this readiness something happens, something transforms and you go beyond.
Sometimes the way opens up for you but you are not able to see because you have your own set ideas of the opening and you look for them there and then not finding them there you conclude that there is no way out for you. These are your preconceived notions that need to be dropped. You need to be alert and open to anything from anywhere for you don’t know from where the opening may emerge, this is said to be wisdom of uncertainty. You are not limiting yourself, and then in this readiness you may spot the opening from wherever it may appear.
Now when we talk about Buddha’s grief, it does not mean that only those who have, only those who have leaded a princely life can experience such a thing. No, we have examples of saints like Kabir who had limited resources and they are others who lived in penury but achieved realization. If you are aware and sensitive you can always learn from other people’s experiences, you need not go through it yourself. It is not the experience that matters, it is not its volume that matters, what actually matters is that the experience is lived to its fullest intensity however insignificant it may appear to be. Every moment in life is equally potential with all possibilities, significant is living it to its fullest and that becomes the opening that transforms.
Our intrinsic nature is divinity and bliss and we carry it with ourselves irrespective of time or place or any condition, and therefore we can be convinced that it can unfold from anywhere, even from the most unimaginable areas. So drop all your concepts, be open and receptive in full acceptance and surrender and allow the divinity to unfold.
अद्भुत… रहस्यपूर्ण.. गहरी बात… नमन सद्गुरु 💛🩵💚💙🧡❤️💓🔥🔥🔥🌻🌹🌹🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
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